[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boardjames_corrected2_9963.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:[[JustForPun When Board James is bored, he plays some board games]].]]

Board James is a Cinemassacre WebOriginal series, created and starred by Creator/JamesRolfe, famous for his work with [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd the Nerd]] and [[WebVideo/YouKnowWhatsBullshit the Bullshit Man]]. You can find the series [[http://cinemassacre.com/category/boardjames/ here]]

[[AsHimself Board James]] is a pretty normal guy, a kid at heart who collects a great variety of BoardGames as a hobby, and reviews them. Sometimes Board James does his reviews alone, and from time to time he's joined by his [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic best bud]] [[{{Jerkass}} Motherfucker Mike]], who is a bit of a cheater when it comes to playing the games. And when there's a place on the board for an extra player, there's [[TheJinx Bad Luck Bootsy]], an annoying but friendly guy who is prone to ruining the games and who causes nothing but trouble to James, Mike and himself.

It started out as a SpinOff of WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd, but is now its own series. It follows the same MidReviewSketchShow formula that the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd AVGN]] helped popularize, but features a much less [[CausticCritic ''enraged'']] style of reviewing, often focusing on the good too.

The show was put on hiatus in April 2013 after the Dream Phone episode. [[WordOfGod According to James]], he had plans on continuing the series with a new season, but had fallen behind due to working on the AVGN movie. He promised that more episodes will come, and the promise was fulfilled when the series returned on, of all days, AprilFoolsDay 2015.

----!!Tropes:* AcidTripDimension: In the "Ouija/Domino Rally" episode, James finds himself in one after he completes his ritual. A sun and moon are floating around, there's a giant eye in the darkness, and the green Atari Frankenstein that [[CallBack the Nerd blew up with his Super Scope]] is in the corner.** Even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by James.-->"This is like some kind of crazy acid trip!"* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Deadly Danger Dungeon* AllThereInTheManual: Some of the games reviewed suffer from this.** The Dragonstrike game has its story explained in a movie-like instructional VHS that came with the game.* AllYourPowersCombined: Quoted in the "Ouija/Domino Rally" episode.-->'''James''': [The Ouija board] is a group effort. It takes all your powers combined, the living, the dead, the powers above, and..the leader, in charge of the game.* AnimateInanimateObject: Mr. Bucket and [[spoiler:the Dream Phone.]]* AprilFoolsDay: This date in 2013 was the day the Dream Phone episode, the last episode prior to a two-year hiatus, came out. The same date in 2015 marked the return of the series in the Omega Virus episode. Neither of them were pranks.* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:-->'''Motherfucker Mike:''' What are those tiles? What's up with the bushes? What's the other deck of cards? What are that circle of explosion pieces? How many times can this guy get hit? Can this guy move first or does he attack first? ''How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?'' The world may never know...* AudienceAlienatingPremise: InUniverse, James says this about Dragonstrike. Whenever he tried to find people to play the game with, they would be put off by the seeming complexity of the rules.* AuthorAppeal: As Mike is a huge fan of Music/ElvisPresley, in the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode, [[spoiler:he makes his first appearance impersonating Elvis. And he does a pretty spot-on performance, too.]]* [[spoiler:BackFromTheDead]]: [[spoiler:Mike and Bootsy, in the ''Ouija / Domino Rally'' episode.]]* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor / {{Foreshadowing}}: After playing ''Dream Phone'', James points out that it plays like a mystery game. He goes on to draw parallels between it and [[spoiler:a murder mystery like ''Clue'']].* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:After the Dream Phone episode, try bringing up James' dead friends and see how he reacts.]] [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd The Nerd]] figured this out the hard way.* BestialityIsDepraved: Bootsy apparently has a past of lovemaking with animals, and is even seen in bed flirting with the shark in the "Shark Attack" episode.** According to accusations from one another, James and Mike have indulged in this as well.-->"I saw you blowing a goat last night!"* [[spoiler:BetterManhandleTheMurderWeapon]]: In the Dream Phone review, [[spoiler:after finding Mike dead, James pulls the knife out of his back.]]* BewareTheNiceOnes: As seen at the end of the "Shark Attack" episode, James can get really irate when pissed off.* BigDamnHeroes:** Hilariously subverted when Mike walks in on James being cornered by Mr. Bucket. Instead of helping, Mike becomes Mr. Bucket's new victim as James tells the bucket to attack ''him'' instead.** Mike does eventually play this trope straight. When James get tag-teamed by [[spoiler:Mr. Bucket and the Dream Phone]] in the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode, Mike appears and kills them off. While impersonating Elvis, no less.* BittersweetEnding: The Dream Phone episode. [[spoiler:James manages to defeat the evil Dream Phone, but at the cost of Bootsy and Mike's lives, without even mentioning [[SanitySlippage the effect it had on James.]]]]* BlackSpeech: Tons and tons of it in James' ritual in the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode.* ABloodyMess: In one shot of the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode, James very clearly uses ketchup to simulate the scenario of him cutting his wrist with a steak knife as part of his ritual. * BoardGames: [[CaptainObvious No shit.]]* BottomlessPits / SpikesOfDoom : Deadly Danger Dungeon is [[OneHitKill full of them.]]-->'''Board James:''' That's an instant death. You fell in the spikes.-->'''Motherfucker Mike:''' But I fell in the spikes already up here.-->'''Board James:''' [[BiggerIsBetter These spikes are bigger.]]* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the review of Dragonstrike there's a moment in which James starts acting as if he was playing the game with a bunch of friends and starts assigning characters to each one, he then points out to the camera and claims "And you'll be the wizard!".* ButtonMashing: Pretty much the whole Crossfire battle.* TheCameo: Board James makes a Cameo in the [[WebVideo/{{Kickassia}} TGWTG second anniversary, in which he teaches the characters how to play Risk.]]** In the Loupin' Louie episode, James invites people that were at PAX 2011, including Kevin Finn, A.J. Locascio, [[WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow Angry Joe]], WebVideo/TheHappyVideoGameNerd and Pedobear.* CatchPhrase: Subverted; the first regular episode ("Dragonstrike") has Board James introduce himself with the phrase "Hey! I'm Board James. [[JustForPun And when Board James is bored, I play some board games]]." This is delivered in such a way that it APPEARS to be his opening catchphrase, but he doesn't say it again until the ''Omega Virus'' episode as an IronicEcho, given the circumstances.* CatScare: Multiple times in the Mr. Bucket episode, since you can't really make an effective JumpScare out of a plastic children's toy.* ClusterFBomb: Like the other Cinemassacre web originals, the characters from Board James don't shy away from swearing every once in a while.* ContinuityNod: ** In the Donut Disaster episode, Bootsy is using an eye-patch because of [[EyeScream the little accident he had in the Tornado Rex episode.]] ** He splashed hot burning coffee all over his face at the end of the Donut Disaster episode, and in the Splat! episode we see him wearing the eye-patch ''and'' bandages over his face.** In the Dream Phone episode, the person on the other end of the line says for James to guess his name if he had [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay the balls]]. We can't blame him for seeing if Mr. Bucket was the one stalking him. [[spoiler:He wasn't.]]** Again from the Dream Phone episode, Bootsy mentions that his dick was bitten off by a shark. This is a reference to the Shark Attack episode, in which he tried to make love to the plastic shark from the game.** In James' appearance in an AVGN episode, the Nerd [[spoiler:[[BerserkButton brings up his dead friends (this is post-''Dream Phone'', mind you)]]]] and James leaves in a bout of profane anger. * CoversAlwaysLie: In the episode about Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles games, as the games were more visually attractive and better illustrated the less fun they were.* CowerPower: James has his moment of this when Mr. Bucket corners him.-->'''Board James:''' Fucking pervert, get away from me! *Mike enters the room* Suck '''his balls!''' -->'''Mr. Bucket:''' *turns around and attacks Mike* Balls! Balls! Balls! Balls! -->'''Motherfucker Mike:''' AAAAAAAAAH!!!!* CutenessProximity: The Doggie Doo dog had this effect on both James and Mike when it first came out of the box.* DarkerAndEdgier: The Mr. Bucket episode, more or less, but ''without a doubt'' the Dream Phone episode, as well as all episodes following.* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The Monster Madness episode.* DissonantSerenity: James at the end of the "Dream Phone" episode. [[NightmareFuel It is terrifying.]]* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In the "Mr. Bucket" episode, we see the bucket joining James in bed, and when James notices the bucket it appears as if he suddenly grew a [[RagingStiffie giant boner]].* TheDogWasTheMastermind: The big twist of the ''Dream Phone'' episode: [[spoiler:'''''the phone was the killer.''''']]** [[spoiler:'''''or was it?''''']]* DoubleEntendre: All the time. Guaranteed if there are any balls involved in the game.-->'''BoardJames:''' It's very '''stimulating''' cause you're always '''grabbing''' the '''balls''' underneath your '''gun'''. You gotta keep '''firing''' and '''reloading''' nonstop. But the gun gets '''jammed''' all the time.-->'''Mr. Bucket:''' I'm Mr. Bucket, pop balls out of my mouth!* DramaticThunder: Used frequently throughout the Mr. Bucket episode: when James finds the bucket under his blankets, when the bucket says that it wants to suck James' balls, and when the bucket is attacking James in the living room.** The Monster Madness episode is full of them.* DuctTapeForEverything: Used in the Weapons and Warriors episode while setting up the game, because glue takes time to dry, and all is going to get fucked up again anyway.** James seems to get a bad time keeping the pieces together with the tape. [[FridgeBrilliance The thing is, he's actually using masking blue tape, which has a weaker adhesive than regular tapes to be easily removable.]]* DullSurprise: [[spoiler:In the "Dream Phone" episode, James and Mike both have the same reaction to Bootsy's death--a brief period of shock and horror, only to quickly come to accept that he's dead mere moments afterward.]]* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first few reviews would have James explaining the game to the audience. When he actually got to the game, Motherfucker Mike would appear as his cheating opponent. Eventually, Mike became much less antagonistic, and the rules of the game would be explained through conversations between James and Mike. * EdutainmentShow: His reviews may fall into this category, much more than the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd AVGN]] ones.* EvilPhone: Dream Phone is much more than just a girly game...* EpisodeTitleCard: Drawn by no other than Mike Matei, as with the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd AVGN]].* EvilLaugh: James gives an extremely unnerving chuckle at the end (directly to the camera, no less) after quoting Creator/EdgarAllanPoe.* EyeScream: Bad Luck Bootsy, which is why he dons an eyepatch. [[spoiler:At the end of the Tornado Rex review, where he sends Tornado Rex flying, bouncing off walls, and into his own eye.]]* TheFaceless: Board James in the first episode. Probably to keep ambiguous whether if the narrator was [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd the Nerd]] or not.* FanSequel: When he was a kid, James made a board game based on [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Street Fighter II]]... and tired of waiting for the actual sequel, he made another one based on his own imaginary version of Street Fighter III. One of the characters was [[{{Dracula}} ''Dracula''.]]** And the [[{{Uberwald}} Transylvania flag]] was [[BatOutOfHell a bat]], of course.* FilkSong: A [[OnceAnEpisode staple]] of the series.* {{Flashback}}: A very humorous one with James and Mike remembering all the times Bootsy has screwed up their fun.* {{Foreshadowing}}: ** See BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor above.** During James' Ouija ritual in "Ouija/Domino Rally", we see three board games summoning the people on their covers: Elvis, Rodney Dangerfield, and Vincent Price. [[spoiler:Mike and Bootsy eventually appear as Elvis and Rodney Dangerfield. At the end, Board James starts behaving similar to Vincent Price.]]* GainaxEnding: ** The "Shark Attack" episode, which ends after James reaches a RageBreakingPoint, yells at Mike and Bootsy, and then leaves. Not counting TheStinger, which still doesn't make much sense.** The "Omega Virus" episode, which has the big reveal that there are [[MesACrowd multiple Jameses]] playing at once. Then another James comes in and kills them all, revealing the duplicates to be [[RobotMe robotic doppelgangers]].** The "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode ends with [[spoiler:James successfully bringing Mike and Bootsy back from the dead. When he tries to question them about the Dream Phone incident, they try to calm him down, stating that the incident never needs to be discussed again. Their statements of "never again" gradually turn into "nevermore", which leads to James creepily uttering the "Quoth the raven, nevermore" line from ''Literature/TheRaven'' before [[EvilLaugh performing an unnerving chuckle.]]]]* {{GASP}}: In the Dream Phone episode when [[spoiler:James finds Bootsy's corpse.]]* GeniusDitz:-->'''Bad Luck Bootsy:''' *picks up a card* ''Buy books and supplies, pay 5,000 dollars'', I already did that shit ten years ago in college!-->'''Board James:''' ...you have a college degree?-->'''Bad Luck Bootsy:''' Bioengineering.* [[GoMadFromtheIsolation Go Mad from the Isolation]]: Spending two years hiding out in an attic has not been good for Board James' sanity. * GuideDangIt: While playing Battle Masters, Board James had to check the manual before attempting any move. And even with the manual at hand, the rules were way too complicated and confusing, to the point that Mike ended up giving up.* [[spoiler:GrandFinale]]: [[spoiler:The Dream Phone episode appeared to be this, considering it was the final episode before a long hiatus, but the show continued exactly two years later with the Omega Virus episode. [[WordOfGod James has confirmed]] that he will continue to make new episodes.]]* GroinAttack: Mr. Bucket always goes for ''the balls''.** And in TheStinger from the Shark Attack video, [[spoiler:Bad Luck Bootsy is on the receiving end of one from the shark. He now dons a hook on his crotch.]]* HavingAGayOldTime: Discussed with the Mr. Bucket advert, which uses the unfortunate phrase "balls pop out of my mouth" as a slogan, which has gained controversy, understandably.* HurricaneOfEuphemisms: From the Mr. Bucket episode.-->'''Mr. Bucket''': I wanna suck on your balls!-->'''James (throwing plastic balls)''': You mean ''plastic'' balls! These kind!-->'''Mr. Bucket''': No, I mean balls! Testicles! Scrotum! Gonads! Family jewels! Bullets! Cojones! ''Balls!''* HurricaneOfPuns: While [[spoiler:beating up the titular phone]] in the "Dream Phone" episode, James spits out a slew of [[PreMortemOneLiner pre-]] and [[BondOneLiner post-]]mortem one liners.* IKnowYourTrueName: Whoever is calling James on the Dream Phone challenges him to guess his name, asking only yes-or-no questions. [[spoiler: It turns out to be the phone itself, and even though James figures it out, it still doesn't give him any power over it.]]* ILikeMyXLikeILikeMyY: -->'''Bad Luck Bootsy:''' I like my coffee like I like my women... [[{{Metaphorgotten}} with my dick in it!]]* InternalHomage: ** Board James describes playing ''Shark Attack'' as "easy-peasy-[[MunkyCheez monkey-cheesy!]]"** According to James, Board James saying "Oh well, he's dead" after [[spoiler:he finds Bootsy hanging in the closet]] in the "Dream Phone" episode is a reference to the same line being used in his short film ''Death Puppy''.* IronicNurseryRhyme: Mr. Bucket's childish jingle.* ItWontTurnOff: Poor Board James swears he turned off Mr. Bucket before going to sleep...-->'''James:''' This doesn't make sense, I turned you off!-->'''Mr. Bucket:''' [[DoubleEntendre Oh, but you turn me on!]]** The same thing happens with the Dream Phone.* LimitedWardrobe: Averted. Unlike [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd the Nerd]], James wears a different shirt and baseball cap in each episode; however, they're always related to video games, comics or movies.* LiveEpisode: The "Loupin' Louie" episode was recorded live at PAX 2011.* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: Some of the board games, particularly Heroquest and Battle Masters (and how!), which were made by the same creators by the way.* LuckBasedMission: Deadly Danger Dungeon. Even playing the fan-retooled version that's [[UnwinnableByMistake actually beatable]] will kill you over and over and over...* MesACrowd: The "Omega Virus" episode. It is hinted at with the three different camera angles we see in the video back-to-back-to-back, and then it is revealed that there are three different James clones playing the game, as well as a fourth that kills them all.* {{Metaphorgotten}}: -->'''Bad Luck Bootsy:''' I like my coffee like I like my women... with my dick in it!.* MicrowaveTheDog: [[spoiler:James kills the Dream Phone by stuffing it in the microwave and heating it until it explodes.]]* {{Montages}}: Frequently, and usually while a self-made "theme song" for the game plays.** One appears in the "Donut Disaster" video when James recalls all the previous times Bad Luck Bootsy ruined their board games with his bad luck.* MoodWhiplash: ** The Dream Phone episode goes from your average ''Board James'' episode to [[spoiler:a murder mystery!]]** The ''Shark Attack'' episode looks like it'll just be standard routine, but then Bootsy briefly lashes out at Mike, saying "Fuck you, you motherfuckin' piece of shit!" in a deadly serious tone of voice (to which James and Mike react with shock) before switching back to his normal zaniness. The episode continues like a regular ''Board James'' episode, with Bootsy being weird and Mike cheating at the game, until James suddenly gives a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Reason You Suck Speech]] to Mike and Bootsy with a level of rage normally reserved for the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd Nerd]], before storming off. And ''then'' the episode switches back to crazy again with the Shark Attack song playing over the credits and Bootsy getting a GroinAttack from the game's shark in TheStinger.** The ''Ouija / Domino Rally'' episode starts off darkly, with an agitated James screaming at the Ouija board regarding [[spoiler:the deaths of his friends]] only to get no response. Then he notices Domino Rally and immediately cheers up, gushing over and playing with the game...up until the Ouija pointer suddenly flies into James's dominoes, at which point it swings right back into darkness with the Ouija board.* MultipleEndings: The "Lie Detector" video has the Fight Promoter from the game accuse James of [[spoiler:killing Mike and Bootsy, saying he was hallucinating all of the supernatural things happening]], and dares James to put him in the lie detector to see if he's telling the truth. Annotations pop up linking to a "True" ending where he is telling the truth, and a "False" ending where he isn't. Although they both end up being pretty much the same as James refuses to believe that the Fight Promoter is telling the truth, and in both endings he vows to get to the bottom of what's been happening.* MundaneMadeAwesome:** Board James narrates his games as if they were epic adventures, and not just a man moving figurines across a cardboard board. ** In the Dragonstrike review James tells about how he used to get very excited with the introductory video because it presents the game as something seriously epic, then when the video ended, he turned around to actually start playing and discovered that everybody had left the room out of boredom.--> '''Board James:''' ...And that's what happens.** In the Heroquest episode, Board James spends a considerable amount of time setting up the board as he explains the game mechanics, and after he dramatically reads the instructions for the first quest, Motherfucker Mike is so bored he asks to play another thing, [[DeathGlare much to James's annoyance]].** In the Loopin' Louie episode, the music and the way the video was edited makes the game look really fun and dynamic. [[http://youtu.be/wzCLYKBIkps In the behind the scenes]] it seems like it could get a little tedious after a while.* NightmareFuelColoringBook: Deadly Danger Dungeon board.* NintendoHard: The difficulty level of the original Deadly Danger Dungeon game.* OhCrap: James in the ''Dream Phone'' episode when [[spoiler:he realizes [[TheDogWasTheMastermind who the killer is]].]]* ParodyEpisode: The Mr. Bucket episode is a parody of horror movies. The Dream Phone episode, on the other hand, aims for genuine scares.* PlatformHell: A game he made as a kid, [[http://www.cinemassacre.com/2010/03/26/board-james-deadly-danger-dungeon/ Deadly Danger Dungeon]], can be summed up as Board Game Hell. In May 2010, it got made into a PlatformHell [[http://lordgavingames.webs.com/Games.html video game]]. The original was [[SchmuckBait scanned shortly afterward.]] [[http://www.cinemassacre.com/2010/05/05/deadly-danger-dungeon/ Here.]]* PlotCoupon: Present in some of the adventure Board Games, but played for laughs in the Deadly Danger Dungeon episode.-->'''Motherfucker Mike:''' I gotta get the key before the talisman and then I gotta go forward and then go back and then climb a ladder and then fuck in...* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: The way Board James started. Board James first episode was only called "Board Game Review", and it was announced like [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd the Nerd]] doing a review of the game Mouse Trap. Although the narrator appears to be dressed as the Nerd, his face is never on screen and [[CausticCritic he's not as angry as he usually is]]. Also, James Rolfe's wedding ring (which he never wears while playing the Nerd) can be seen in his left hand in some of the scenes, suggesting that the reviewer was James Rolfe himself and not his Nerd persona.** "The Making of Board James" reveals that the first video is just James doing a review as himself. When they decided to make more board game reviews, they created the character of Board James.* ThePrankster: One of the home-made games that appear in the Deadly Danger Dungeon episode is called "Mischief Night", and it's about a guy who plays pranks on his neighbors, the pranks went from throwing toilet paper in a yard to blocking someone's front door with bricks and cement. * PrecisionFStrike: Bootsy's first two songs ("Tornado Rex" and "Donut Disaster") have one right at the very end. In "The Making of Board James", James says that he told Bootsy to do this so that the viewers would know that they weren't the actual songs from the commercials. It didn't always work, and many people commented on the videos along the lines of "I can't believe they got away with airing this on TV back in the day!"** Board James's breakdown in Shark Attack. Despite the character's tendency to swear often, this time it was strong enough to take Mike aback.* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The "Mouse Trap" review uses two classical pieces: "Blue Danube Waltz" and "Marriage of Figaro".* RageBreakingPoint [=/=] TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Board James always plays the nice guy who tolerates Bootsy's oddness and is oblivious to Mike's cheating, but even he had enough and cracked, reaching the AVGN's levels of rage, after Bootsy took his Toy Shark [[AnythingThatMoves to fuck it.]]--> '''Board James:''' C'mon--really, guys? This is a really simple fucking game. Why can we just play a fucking board game? (Mike laughs) ''IT'S NOT FUCKING FUNNY!'' Like, this is the most dysfunctional group of friends I ever had! You're over there cheating, you're over there--making love with ''the damn shark!'' I'm bored, I wanna play a fucking board game--you're fucking pissing me off!! FUCK YOU GUYS!! ''WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR GUYS' FUCKING PROBLEM?!'' '''''[[AtomicFBomb FUCK!!]]'''''* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler:Both the Dream Phone and Mr. Bucket. The phone somehow survived being blown up inside of a microwave, and reappears in the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode to be re-killed by Elvis Mike. Mr. Bucket was ''drowned'' in his episode, and reappeared in the same episode to also be killed by the same person.]]* RedHerring: See SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay.* RuleOfSymbolism: It seems rather correlative that things in the ''Dream Phone'' episode start getting more twisted after James walks through a door with a poster on it that reads "YOU ARE NOW ENTERING [[Series/TheTwilightZone THE TWILIGHT ZONE"]].* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:Many believe that James is going through this over the course of the series. It starts with "Mr. Bucket", which ends with James graphically and disturbingly drowning the bucket in a sink. (Mike even calls him out on it, saying that it was just a toy.) Then came the end of the "Shark Attack" episode, where he reaches a RageBreakingPoint and ''yells'' at his friends for fucking up everything. Everything culminated with "Dream Phone", where a popular idea is that James was the real killer, not the phone.]]* TheScream: In the Dream Phone episode, when [[spoiler:James finds Mike's corpse.]]* SequelHook: Both endings to "Lie Detector" have James say that he's going to get to the bottom of all the supernatural events that have happened to him. One ending suggests that he is going to [[spoiler:summon the ghosts of Mike and Bootsy]].* SeriousBusiness: The reviews about adventure games usually describe them as being really epic experiences.** Some of the games between Motherfucker Mike and Board James can get very intense.** The Dragonstrike VHS really talks about the game as a serious business.--> '''Narrator:''' Feeling brave tonight? Brave enough to do battles with hideous monsters? (...) Brave enough to sneak around castles in the dark and chance being the next victim?--> '''Board James:''' Wow, wow. I'm just trying to play a board game, I'm not looking for any trouble.* ShamelessSelfPromoter: The Monster Madness episode is a promotion for Creator/JamesRolfe other project [[http://cinemassacre.com/2011/09/19/monster-madness-2011-promo/ Cinemassacre's Monster Madness.]]* ShoutOut: ** To the AVGN's catchphrase, in the Deadly Danger Dungeon episode when he's playing his own games full of FakeDifficulty.--> '''Board James:''' What was I thinking?!** In the "Lie Detector" episode, James re-enacts the "listen, you fuckers, you screwheads" scene from ''Film/TaxiDriver'' after he gives the Taxi Driver card a warrant of arrest.** Several in the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode.*** During the ritual, we see him consulting the [[Franchise/EvilDead Necronomicon Ex-Mortis]].*** Amongst other BlackSpeech, James tries to say [[Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951 "Klaatu barada nikto"]] but ends up [[Film/ArmyOfDarkness coughing on the "nikto"]].*** While slitting his wrist at the end of the ritual, James says [[Film/TheExorcist "May the power of Christ compel you!]] [[Franchise/StarWars May the force be with you!]] [[Film/KindergartenCop IT'S NOT A TOOMAH!"]]* SillyWalk: Bad Luck Bootsy's funny little jumps, set to sound effects from VideoGame/PunchOut.* SlasherSmile: James does one [[spoiler:at the end of the Dream Phone episode.]] Its DissonantSerenity and [[spoiler:its hinting that James has gone crazy]] makes it all the more unsettling.* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Compare a regular ''Board James'' episode to [[spoiler:[[WhamEpisode the Dream Phone episode.]]]]* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: ** The person calling James on the Dream Phone challenges him to [[IKnowYourTrueName guess his name]] "if you've got the balls, and I ''know'' you've got the balls!". This leads James to suspect Mr. Bucket as the culprit, but upon finding Mr. Bucket still dead in the sink where James left him, it's revealed that the person on the phone (actually [[spoiler:the phone itself]]) purposely invoked this trope just to mess with him.--> '''[[spoiler: Dream Phone]]:''' Come on! You can do better than that!** Attention has been brought to how the Dream Phone says "I just want to play a game", which is a line that was previously used by James at the end of "Shark Attack".* SpecialGuest: There was a whole array of them in the "Loopin' Louie" episode.** Board James himself also appears on the Nerd's "AVGN Games" episode, strangely happy and jovial as usual [[spoiler:as if he hadn't almost died and then lost his mind]], where he talks about an AVGN Monopoly game with him. When asked about why he isn't in jail, he says he used a get out of jail free card. [[FridgeLogic What?]] Anyway, he still blames the episode's events on the phone and says that he's completely innocent. Hmm...* SpinOff: Board James first episode was only called "Board game review" as part of [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd the Nerd]] videos, but later Board James became its own character.** Though, not entirely related to Board James, there are the 'Motherfuckin Mondays', a review show with [[AsHimself Motherfucker Mike]] as the lead. * SpiritualSuccessor: Of the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd AVGN]]. Board James is not near as ill-tempered and foul-mouthed as [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd The Nerd]], but some of his solo episodes are very reminiscent of the more informative episodes of the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd AVGN]], like the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWltQ9UN5vE Swordquest episode.]]** Also, it follows a similar MidReviewSketchShow formula the [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd AVGN]] became famous for.* StockMonsters: The characters of the Monster Madness game: the Mummy, the Werewolf, the Frankenstein's monster and Dracula.* StuffBlowingUp: As Motherfucker Mike and Board James play Crossfire, random explosions start appearing around them, just like in the TV ad for the game.* StuffedIntoTheFridge: [[spoiler:Bootsy]] gets offed in this manner in the "Dream Phone" episode. * SuperDrowningSkills: From Battle Masters episode:--> '''Motherfucker Mike:''' What the fuck? You can't go on the water? [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd What is this, Simon's Quest?]]* TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse: In the Dream Phone episode, Board James is receiving calls from someone who appears to be able to see his every movement, even when he hides in the closet.* TheTelevisionTalksBack: Much to James surprise, the narrator in the Dragonstrike VHS can talk directly to him at some points.--> '''Board James:''' I'm turning this off. *aproaches TV*--> '''Narrator:''' Do not turn the VCR off yet!--> '''Board James:''' Oh shit. *scared** TomeOfEldritchLore: In the "Ouija/Domino Rally" episode, James is seen consulting the [[Franchise/EvilDead Necronomicon Ex-Mortis]].* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: "Lie Detector" presents the possibility that James had been hallucinating all of the supernatural events that happened to him.* ToiletHumor:** In the Dragonstrike episode, the listing of all the types of ''"crap"'' (actually "trap" written in a medieval font, with the T looking an awful lot like a C).** The entirety of the Doggie Doo episode.* {{Unwinnable}}: Deadly Danger Dungeon. Understandable as James invented the game [[UnwinnableByMistake back when he was a child]].* VideoReviewShow: Leans ''very'' heavily on the show end of the Sliding Scale of Review vs. Show.* VomitDiscretionShot: After consuming massive amounts of Play-Doh, Bad Luck Boosty marathon vomits it out. Thankfully we don't see it.* WhamEpisode: ** The "Dream Phone" episode. We shouldn't even have to explain why by this point.** "Lie Detector", which starts out normally but then is revealed to be [[spoiler:a continuation of the narrative from "Dream Phone", where he imagines that all of the people on the game cards are accusing him of the murder. Then the attention gets turned to the ''viewer'', who is asked to pick between "true" or "false" as to whether James is the killer, which takes them to two separate videos.]]** In the ''Ouija / Domino Rally'' episode, [[spoiler:Mike and Bootsy are brought back to life...but something seems very, very off about the way they reassure him that nothing is wrong]].* WhamLine: From "Dream Phone".-->'''Board James''': I'M IN THE CLOSET! HOW CAN YOU SEE ME?-->'''[[spoiler:Dream Phone]]''': Well, you sure got a ''hold'' on me!* WhamShot: The ending of "Dream Phone", [[spoiler:where James starts exhibiting insanity via DissonantSerenity]].----